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Friday, January 7, 2011

Book Review: BARBIE: A Rare Beauty

I recently received a book called BARBIE: A Rare Beauty, by Sandi Holder to review. Here is some information about the book:

She owns a mansion, a jet, a cruise ship, and a few convertibles. She’s traveled the world, stopping in over 150 countries. She has five sisters, over 40 pets and an on-again-off-again relationship with the smoothest man in America. Her photo adorns the walls of sought-after hotel suites in cities such as Paris and Las Vegas. But most importantly, she is the face of a nearly $2 billion empire—and still has time to shop for shoes.

When Sandi Holder met the 11½ inch tall American icon, Barbie was turning heads in her Red Flare outfit (#939), a rich red velvet tent coat, and sporting the brunette Bubblecut she donned in the early 60s. Now owner of Doll Attic in Union City, CA, the celebrated Barbie doll expert is presenting her incredible collection in BARBIE: A Rare Beauty (F+W Media; October 31, 2010; $30.00; www.dollattic.com). The glamorous guide to Barbie’s first 50 years showcases stunning vintage dolls, classic fashion sets, one-of-a-kind rarities, store displays and many never-before-seen items—all acquired by Holder during two decades of Barbie doll collecting.

Two decades ago when her son fell seriously ill and Sandi suddenly needed to generate income while staying at home, she and Barbie got down to business. With such an impressive resume of over 100 positions, from fashion designer to school teacher to three-time presidential candidate, Barbie was the perfect silent partner in Holder’s plan. Immersing herself in all-things Barbie, she began attending doll shows, buying duplicates and assessing the market and was soon selling vintage dolls from two plastic milk crates in her garage. In 1989, she opened her Doll Attic in a storefront in the San Francisco Bay area.

My take on on the book:

I received this book literally on Christmas Eve, and it was like getting a nice Christmas present. My daughter and I really enjoyed looking through this book. We loved discovering all the different Barbies. I never realized how many different ones there were!

Some that stood out to us were a "Harley Davidson" Barbie, "Star Trek" Barbie, or even a "Lingerie" Barbie! This book is a beautiful "coffee table" book, that has awesome colorful pictures to puruse. This is a must have for any Barbie fan or even novice like me.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy of "Barbie: A Rare Beauty" by Sandi Holder for the sole purpose of reviewing the book. Receiving a complementary copy of the book in no way affected my review. I received no monetary compensation.